Barbarian Abroad Pt. 02

As the sun finally touched the horizon, a rusty sky began to dye the world a burnt shade, burning-fleshed Helios' duty transferring to the void-touched Breksta with his last bitter touch. Their celestial chase was greatly appreciated by the many souls of the Taldian Barony, both local and visiting, the cooling air soothing the stifled mood of the summer heat. The day's work could be washed away, the skyline was warm with the promise of another clear day and the stars of distant Prima, the realm of the Pantheon, would soon reveal themselves to delight the mortal eyes.

The bright disc shone across a vast lake, where Cole had finally managed to soak his road-stained hooves after the last hour's travel. The day's 'work' had replaced the half-minotaur's clothes with earth-speckled limbs and a thin layer of Ooze essence that coated his neck to groin, but a pouch of electrum could easily fix that as well as calm any anti-nudist locals he might disturb. The last village had hardly been friendly before he walked in nude and taken his pay for dealing with their monster problem. They'd just kept screaming at him when all he wanted was some loose pants, but hey, maybe the next town would be better. Fortunately, the edges of the lake was nothing but the spotty edges of a nearby forest, leaving few villagers to spot him. The lake was another by-product of the former Taldian Baron, her geomantic prowess and disinterest in its side-effects having formed a channel to the ocean and a mighty basin by pure coincidence and indifference. That didn't explain the enormous ship that stood in the middle of it however. Probably someone who got caught along for the ride.

It sat between Cole and the glare of the sinking sun, which he appreciated after the last mile of shadeless marching. He peered at the oddly placed vessel as he splashed his hooves absent-mindedly. Its sails were tattered with age and a large opening was in the port or stern or whatever-the-backs-of-ships-are-called from the below the water to where he assumed the captain's cabin sat. But aside from the odd weather damage, it seemed a remarkably well made vessel. 'I wonder if it was a pirate's ship?' he pondered as he scooted a little further into the cool water, soothing his calves. 'Or maybe an enemy of the Baron?' As a tourist of these strangely shaped lands, curiosity crept into Cole's mind. He didn't want to just ignore this broken, yet floating ship. There could be pirate gold, or magical treasure even inside! He shook the thought from his head, what did he need to haul around all that for anyway? He didn't even have pockets . . . . but a different kind of treasure would provide them. Cole untied his pouch of magnetic coins from his tail, burying them in the soft earth with his planted axe as a marker. With a pivot towards the ship, he dived bodily into the lake. It was time to go clothes-shopping.

* * * * *

Despite its time wasting away inland, the sea was still soaked into the very being of the galleon, salt pervading the surrounding air. As Cole swam closer, he could see the outline of a large earth mound beneath the vessel, holding it up in the illusion of buoyancy. 'I guess the Baron wanted a centre-piece,' he realised as the shapes below the lake grew fainter in the dimming rays. Wading around the shattered 'ass' of the ship, something echoed out to him from inside the water-filled cargo hold. It sounded like a splash, but in the shadowed insides, he couldn't see anyone moving around. He held his breath a few moments, bobbing in the water until it didn't look like anything was going to keep splashing. 'Old plank fell, probably.' The interior was a shade cooler than the evening air of the lake, light piercing through the cracks of the hull to shed a little light inside. The dry quarters deck was thankfully a few inches above the water level, Cole testing its strength with few tender pushes.

The wood began to groan slightly, but it wasn't from him but from above. Cole's wet-furred ears could here it growing closer, as two sets of thumping steps approached him, the sound channelled down a set of stairs upward. It sounded like two trolls, hopping along the upper deck and dragging a large club each with them afterwards. Thump, scssh, Thump, scssh. The half-minotaur sank a little into the water with sinking in his gut, trying to hide himself. He'd drown hiding under the deck and he's make too much noise if he swam away. Why couldn't he just do something on his holiday without any trouble?

"Is this meant to be a joker or a jack?" A woman spoke in high, bubbly tones, unlike any troll Cole had met. The heavy thuds still followed her cheerful voice, maybe an adventurer with a haul of goods, dragging it around in leaps?

"I think its a joker, they are fornicating with a odd sceptre after all. Unless its a queen? The pigment on their crowns looks a bit deteriorated. I do not understand why the craftsmen wasted a perfectly good opportunity to build a deck with unclear artistry." The second female voice was more stern, but slightly musical in its inflections despite her efforts. A bard or a wizard, perhaps? Looking towards the stairs, Cole caught the shadow of a full-haired figure turning to come down. He looked a little nervously at his odds. He didn't have anything to steal, but he was also naked amongst humans and they might think the worst. At least with his axe and coins, he could try and pass for some eccentric foreign warrior. Now he was just a nude weirdo and an easy target.

"At least its a full set! We can finally play Scuttle-Sail again, even if its only here."

'Maybe they'll understand? One sounds friendly.' Cole tried to relax as naturally on the wooden planks as possible, short of ideas on how to meet the approaching ladies.

"Here? This vessel is condemned and destroyed. It was a waste of a journey, if you ask me." They were sliding down the stairs now, something slapping slightly against the steps.

'That one sounds less friendly.' Cole's perspiration was well-hidden by the trickling lake water, as doubt began to gnaw at his plan.

"Oh, don't be so down. With a little love and some local help, we could make it like a special club house here, like those nobles. For you, me and Aurora and Namis and-"

The more friendly sounding one 'stepped' out first, as she slid her scaled lower body onto the deck. An indented tail fin as wide as Cole's chest patted cheerfully against the floor, tipping the silvery-blue scales that glitter in the remaining light. After about five feet of tail, her human navel marked the start of her upper half, a bronzed summer tan and a pair of pert, handful-sized breasts exposed without shame. Her hair was golden in a short pixie cut and her smile was bright, even as she noticed the awkwardly posing Cole leaning out of the water. The mermaid laughed without malice at him, gesturing at him with a hand holding a deck of cards. "Hahaha, I thought I saw someone on the shore. You trying to pose as a merman? Hey, Glori, I think a minotaur's come to visit!" She moved across the deck with heavy hops, throwing herself almost bodily towards Cole as the other figure stepped down.

"Where is he?" Her hair was dark, like a bottomless abyss, covering half of her sharp features and cascading down her pale frame to cover her chest. She also seemed to be using some kind of seaweed bind across her ample breasts, a fairly simple top but one that covered her enough to not give anything away she didn't want to. Between the three of them, she was practically dressed to the nines. Her scales were pure silver, reflecting the sun sharply into Cole's eyes enough to make him see spots. She glared a little, raising her eyebrow at him when they made eye-contact. "He's not a pure-blood,Yule. Without an extra hundred pounds on him and horns like those, he could be more human than you think."

Mer-people and minotaurs enjoyed a slight bond between their people as one of the few 'uplifted races' in the world. Unlike demons and dragons which were formed in fabric of creation, or the proud 'first-born' races like humans, elves and orcs, the uplifted races were all once an entirely separate species that a god or gods had gifted with humanoid forms and higher intellect. This brought a mixture of awe and distaste for such races as they had enjoyed a god's favour but were also left without nations of their own and sometimes seen as little more than divine experiments by the pre-existing races.

Cole frowned back at Glori, touching his humble head-nubs before finally pushing himself out of the water. Clothing for mer-people was fortunately more of a quirk than an expectation. He was glad that the soak had also washed the worse of the ooze and mud off, leaving him with a little oily trace of his furred thighs. That could be anything. "This proof enough?" He grunted as he shook a hoofed leg dry, rolling onto his front to whip his wet tail in the air. Yule batted at the swaying appendage a little, chuckling whilst Glori turned to examine a bit of the salty wall, folding her arms against her bound chest. "I just came here for trousers, okay? Name is Cole and I am not a badly equipped slaver. Just here on holiday."

"Minotaurs are never badly equipped," Yule quipped with a wink. "Ain't that right, Baron Beefy-Balls?" She laughed again, easy and light as her friend hissed.

"Yule!" Glori let out a sigh and uncrossed her arms, turning back to the pair at edge of the deck. "I apologise. I have been idle for too long in this dilapidated wreck and its gotten a little on my nerves." Her cold eyes briefly glanced at both of Cole's swinging appendages as he stood up. "My friend and I came through the Baroness' Channel. She though that dragging ourselves around a beached ship would be something of an 'adventure'. Though, you look like you've had an unfortunate incident yourself."

"I was doing an odd job for some vacation funds. Bit of field work."

"It must have been very odd if your employer felt it was clothing optional." Cole shrugged, the floorboards creaking slightly.

"Oozes just get through everything."

"Whoa," Yule chimed, " Lucky for some, its been boring as watching coral grow on this ship. Not even a cute rodent of unusual size to find. Whole place was probably already been looted by adventurers ages ago. Every chest busted open, every weapon or piece of cutlery pinched. But you could help us if you wanted to?" She gave a wide smile as she scooted closer.

"Oh?" Cole flapped the droplets from his ears as the mermaid drew level with him, taking his hand in hers.

"I mean, its been very boring rummaging through here and now there is something fun that we can finally do now you're here." She licked her lips hungrily as her sea-green eyes stared into Cole's earthy browns. "Something I've wanted to do since I first saw you. Its been a while since I've done it, but I'd like think still I'm very good." She leaned in close, her voice low but barely restrained with excitement. "Please play Scuttle-Sail with us. We managed to find some nudey playing cards!"

Yule demonstrated the joker's art to Cole, as Glori joined the pair as slowly as possible. Two intertwined busty jesters using the handles of their fool's sceptres as masturbation aids for their partner. Erotic symmetry for a few coins and double the entertainment for a lonely crew. Cole had never seen this kind of effort ever devoted to erotic art that weren't crafted for some fertility deity before, though Yule's shameless chest pressing slightly against him trumped any picture.

"Sure, I guess?" He was a little thrown by the gleeful bluntness of the mermaid, especially as she crushed her breasts against him in an embrace. With this kind of company, clothes-shopping could wait a while. A working lantern was found and lit as moon light replaced sun light, and the trio soon settled down into a casual circle. The mermaids stretched out on their sides as Cole folded his legs, tucking his obscene tool down. The rules of the game were simple. Each player had three cards in their hand. On their turn, they could play a card of any value as their ship, play a lower value one above any persons ship to give it a 'sail' or put a higher ranking card beneath it to 'scuttle' it. When a ship had two sails, everyone got points equal to the cards they contributed to the ship, with jacks, queens and kings counting as eleven, twelve and fourteen respectively. The golden haired mermaid announced first to eighty would win.

The first couple rounds were easily Yule's, Glori devoting her efforts to scuttling Cole, him returning the favour soon after. The dark-haired mermaid glanced haughtily at Cole, mostly to glare at him before countering his last turn. Though as the game progress, her noticed her eyes slipped down to his lap, either subtly after another glare or as he laid a card and his attention seemed elsewhere. Amused, the half-minotaur played a sail for Glori's ship, leaning forward towards her as his thick cock shifted into better view. She let out a cough of suppressed embarrassment, her unshielded cheek flushing as Cole retook his seat, the flared head of his tool now visible as it rested on his leg.

"A gift." He said with a not-so innocent smile. The corners of Glori's mouth lifted slightly, despite having locked her eyes on her hand. Her attention forcibly away from him, Cole peeked at her sea-weed bind, spotting a pink nipple that had poked through the green mass with its stiffness. As she completed her ship, leaning over and shifting her top, Glori let out the smallest of groans. Her friend didn't seem to notice, but Cole saw her hand casually shift the bind back into place, though perhaps after a moment too long of rubbing the area. By now, Yule was racing ahead of them both by at least thirty points, her pert chest bouncing with elation as her ship of a leather-glad queen, a bikini chain-mailed ten and a heart-reared five pushed her another twenty seven points further and past victory.

"Hee hee, yes! Thanks for the game, guys, I haven't played in ages. Not since those nice fishermen in Gildaport. Do you remember them, Glori? They were so friendly and said we looked so pretty and the old one even made a charcoal of me." Yule held her hand over her forehand over-dramatically as she posed, an image of majestic beauty only slightly spoiled by her excitable fidgeting. Her friend rolled her dark eyes.

"I do. They even let you retain their deck and you returned home only to realise that water and cards do not mix." She said, collecting the nude cards and shuffling them briefly.

"Yeah, but this time, I'll remember," Yule fist pumped the air, which Glori awkwardly bumped as she hovered over her.

"Maybe you should try and see if you can transport the cards to the shoreline without dissolving them then." Glori dropped the full deck onto her friends chest, with a light 'thmp' "The 'Baron' requires clothing and I believe I saw some rags that haven't been rendered completely useless yet."

"Oke-dokie. You two play nice while I'm gone." Yule slid happily off the fractured floor and into the flooded deck, bobbing gently upright whilst raising her triumphant cards above her head.

"We will be fine, won't we Cole? Be sure to move carefully and not to damage your cards." The tan mermaid saluted Glori before waggling out towards the lake. Cole grabbed the lantern as his seaweed clothed guide gestured for him to follow her deeper into the ship. The mermaid moved less bombastically than her friend, shifting almost serpentine slowly as hooves clapped behind her.

"So, she seemed to really enjoy the game. Don't see many mermaid adventurers either." He noted, as Glori pulled a dilapidated chest of drawers open.

"Yule appreciates land-dweller games more than anyone I know." She spoke whilst facing the drawers, throwing the worst stained or torn bits of cloth aside. "Despite the sea's vast contents, cultures beyond our own are difficult to study, aside from fisherman tales or the odd channel inland."

"You did not look too bored either." He poked, lifting the lantern higher for a better view as he drew closer to her. She span around, swatting him back with the flat of her tail. A pile of drab garments in her arms and eyes dismissive.

"These might work. Don them."

The first item was a pair of roomy grey shorts that Cole slipped on with ease. However the flared head of his flaccid tool extended at least five inches past the end of the shorts leg. Glori rested her chin in her hand, breathing thoughtfully for a moment as the half-minotaur raised his eyebrow, unimpressed. "Okay, well try the next one." The leathery loincloth covered the worst of his rear and shaft, but after the first trial steps, the cloth was swatted aside the hanging cum-fruits. "Next." The toga turned out to be a cape. "Next." That was a vest. "Next!" The dark green pants clung against his excessive bulge which trailed down his left leg blatantly, but the fabric was holding strong. Ample room for his tail to wiggle and they didn't seem to be in too bad shape either. Glori had gotten more and more impassioned as the fitting had progressed, her chest raising heavily as she inspected the attire. She knelt down to his groin level, pulling the edges of the trousers to check how it felt. "Not too snug?"

"I don't think so." Cole murmured as she looked up towards him. Whether by intention or instinct, she bit her lip softly. He was now very acutely aware of her touch on his legs, as she moved up and up, not missing a beat as her hand skimmed over his poorly cover cock. He let out a hot gasp as he felt the fabric clench down. No, it wasn't the trousers, as another shiver ran through him when Glori's fingers reached his waist. "Help me get them off." The mermaid didn't seem to hear him, her sight locked on the thickening bulge as the detail of its veins etched against the straining cloth. "Its too tight!" Cole grabbed at the straining buttons, popping them off in a single motion. The tiny discs slapped against Glori's cheek, bringing her back into reality. She grabbed the trouser legs and wrenched them down as Cole continued to tear through the bindings of his erect freedom. The rags burst as two feet of bloated beef met open air once more, casting a shadow over the open-mouthed mermaid as she looked back up again.

"Oh . . . oh." Glori's eye was wide as a saucer, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Cole shook the last of the split cloth from his hooves, resting a hand against a solid beam before noticing her gaze.

"Something wrong?" He asked as her lithe hand cautiously approached the pulsating pillar before her, gently gripping the turgid girth as if it were a wild beast that she might spook.

"Its even fatter than Taifon's cock. And I though he was packed like a whale." She gave the enormity before her a light kiss, cooing softly as she breathed in its heavy musk.

"So this is why you wanted to help me get changed." Cole smirked as Glori nodded against his immense cock.

"Being hung like a fish does not incline Mermen to length or girth." She emphasized the last word with a tender squeeze of the rock-hard spear, her hand barely reaching halfway around its incredible circumference. "I thought my ex was gigantic even by land standards, with a foot of his wrist-thick cunt-slammer, but this." She kissed it again, mashing her wet lips against its immovable mass. "This is something else entirely."Her voice grew needier, hungrier as she memorised every vein with her mouth, punctuating each word with another groanful kiss up towards the tip. "This. Wonderful. Delicious. Monstrous. Minotaur cock."

Cole held himself steady against the oak beam as the mermaid's worship became more and more eager. After a day of hot sun, monster feeding and solid marching, he was beginning to ebb despite his massaged member still standing strong. It was probably stealing his limb's remaining energy just to fuel this aquatic escapade, the selfish dick.